NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2002

[Kevin McCarthy]

That article was exactly what I needed

Thanks again for your help

Kevin

[Ram Nagarajan]

Hi all:
I've run into a mental block here, and forgotten everything I know about digital formats :-) (Remember when you're writing something and suddenly you can't figure out what the right spelling of a word is? This is the video equivalent!)
1. Assuming I'm shooting on an XL1S, and digitizing to FCP, can I output my final film in DVCAM format on (say) a DSR-11 Sony VTR? Does input format have anything at all to do with output format beyond the limitations on image quality etc. imposed by the input format? (I've probably sorted this out in my head once already , but it's bothering me again!)
2. If I had to submit a final tape on Beta SP after shooting/digitizing from Mini DV, what would be the best way to do this? (Dump final cut to Mini DV/DVCAM and transfer at a post-house? I don't think I'll have access to an analog breakout box, so that rules out just hiring a Beta SP VTR and dumping straight to that. Also, I'm putting together a system that includes a DSR-11 VTR; and the DSR-11 only gives composite outs for a monitor.)
Thanks a ton!
Best,
Ram

[Jeff Farris]

Well, I may be in a slightly different position than many here. I opened up my new 17" iMac and found my copy of 10.2 on top of the box. I had been told that I would have to pay $19.00 for shipping (are they kidding?) when it became available, but the delay on the bigscreen iMac evidently coincided with letting the cat out of the bag.

Booted the machine last night, then immediately ran the 10.2 update. Comparisons are hard because my first FP iMac had a lower clock speed on the processor. This puppy is fast, but is it the marginal improvement in processor (700 to 800) or the improved OS? Who cares, it's great.

Office X installed without incident. I have been updating all of my title bar links and bragging about my new machine on my favorite forums...now I am going to start installing the rest of my software (PS-7, InDesign. Go Live) Hope they all go as smooth.

Got an underwater housing for my little ZR-50 and a dive trip coming up next week. Though I have real work to do, looks like the first editing project on my 17 will be a fun one.

Any questions about the 17" iMac, I will be happy to address them.

Only minor complaint so far is that all the extra real estate is in the width. Could have used a bit more heighth to go with it. I love it anyway.

[Rob Lohman]

You can convert any input format to any output format as long
as you have the software that can read/write those formats
(or accepts plugins that can or something). Ofcourse quality
may suffer. Depending on what you do.

I cannot answer your other questions because I never have
outputted to Beta SP. DVCAM should in theory accept your
DV streams just fine.

[Ram Nagarajan]

Rob, thanks:
From what you've said, perhaps I should refine my question a bit.
If I digitize to FCP 3 from Mini DV, but want to output my final film (i.e. print to tape) in DVCAM format, what would I need to do?
a) Would I need any additional software/plug-ins to convert DV to DVCAM in FCP 3?
b) Is it just a matter of popping in a DVCAM tape into the Sony DSR-11 VTR and printing to tape on it?
Anyone?
Thanks and best,
Ram

[Daniel Berube]

If you run into more setup problems, try out this article:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/ambitious_beginning.html

FYI, here are the requirements for running FCP 3.02:
- Macintosh computer with a 300-MHz or faster PowerPC G3 or G4 processor and built-in FireWire
- 500-MHz or faster single or 450-MHz dual processor Power Mac G4 or PowerBook G4 required for G4 realtime effects
- 667-MHz PowerBook G4 required for mobile G4 realtime effects in DV format
- Mac OS 9.2.2 or Mac OS X v10.1.1
- QuickTime (included)
- 256MB of RAM (384MB recommended for G4 realtime effects)
- 40MB of available disk space required for installation

What rev iMac do you have?

Dan
--
Daniel Berube
Apple Certified Trainer
Member, Apple Consultants Network

President/Apple Ambassador
Boston Final Cut Pro User Group - BOSFCPUG
http://www.bosfcpug.org
Email: dberube@bosfcpug.org
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digital_storytelling/
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[Ken Tanaka]

Jeff,
Hey, thank you very much for that tip, Jeff! The symptoms described sure sound like mine. I never heard of the "gimp-print" drivers (the name sounds a bit derogatory but appropriate in my printer's case). I'm giving it a whirl today and report back.

[Rob Lohman]

As far as I understand it DVCAM only differs in the tape format
used. The digital stream is the same. So yes, if you have a
DVCAM recorder you should be able to just print to tape to that
device and all should be well.

I suggest trying it out before commiting to it though. When things
need to work together it not always works as it should. Better
safe than sorry!

[Kevin McCarthy]

Thanks for the additional info Dan.

I am running a "Snow" iMac.
Power PC G3, 500 MHz, 256 RAM.

I know that I will need more RAM for 3.0, but are there any other issues I should know about?

Thanks,
Kev

[Daniel Berube]

Do you have Peak DV installed on your computer yet? Are you on OS 9 or OS X? If OS X, are you on Jaguar? I ask because it helps me to suggest which software to use.

[Daniel Berube]

Here on my end, Jaguar installed like a charm on my dual gig, annd the resulting performance is extremely pleasing. Logging in time is reduced, and the performance overall is faster. The only incident I experienced so far was with attempting to quit FCP on one occasion when I finished editing. I selected "Quit FCP" and it proceeded to hang with the 3D lolipop icon tot he point where I keystroked a force-quit on the app; however, as soon as the force-quit window appeared, FCP quit before I could select it in the pane to quit. It only happened once.

I am in no way dissapointed by the release of Jaguar.

[Daniel Berube]

Jay,

No question here is a bad question!

I asked a rep about your deck and yes, you cannot control the VHS part of your deck, but you can print to video by playing the timeline and manually rolling tape on the deck via firewire. Not bad for this model at the price point it has. I am tempted to pick one up as a complimentary deck to my editing suite. I've seen SVHS dubs made off the deck from miniDV and the results are fantastic.

[Daniel Berube]

Kevin,

You will need to realize that you will not have realtime effects with your present setup, though you can still definitely edit with it, either set up to run in "Standard" or "Cutting Station" mode.

I have often used my iBook dual USB 500mhz on the road to digitize to and edit with, and am repeatedly satified with its' performance in straight cut and simple dissolve editing. However, when my editing tasks become more complicated, I resort to my dual gig tower to complete the job.

But I will never get rid of my iBook, because it has saved me in editing situations so many times. I can use it to digitize footage to my external firewire drive and at the same time continue to edit on my dual gig. Lats week I had to rent a DSR-11 deck at a rental shop to digitze PAL footage to my FireWire drive, and the iBook did the job with no problems on location, saving me money from having to pay extra to take the deck home.

So although our 500mhz G3 macs will never do RT efx, they will always be able to be used to digitize to and to edit in cutting station mode.

I absolutley recommend, though, that you also purchase at least an external 120 gig 7200rpm firewire drive. I recommend OWC's Mercury Elite series with the WD 120 gig 2mb or 8mb buffer drives. You can learn more about them at:
http://www.macsales.com. Then, in prefs, select the external firewire dirve as your main scratch disk, and go to it.

Happy editing, and let me know how it works out...

[Daniel Berube]

<<<-- Originally posted by Ideosync : Rob, thanks:
From what you've said, perhaps I should refine my question a bit.
If I digitize to FCP 3 from Mini DV, but want to output my final film (i.e. print to tape) in DVCAM format, what would I need to do?
a) Would I need any additional software/plug-ins to convert DV to DVCAM in FCP 3?
b) Is it just a matter of popping in a DVCAM tape into the Sony DSR-11 VTR and printing to tape on it?
Anyone?
Thanks and best,
Ram -->>>

FCP is a pixel pusher. So, as long as you have the proper in/outs/ b.o.b., hardware cards to support the print to tape, you're in business.

To answer your questions, you do not need anything other than a DVCAM tape and a DVCAM deck.

Did you say you own the DSR-11?

[Mark Reidy]

Do you have Peak DV installed on your computer yet?
yes
Are you on OS 9 or OS X?
10.1.5
If OS X, are you on Jaguar?
no
I ask because it helps me to suggest which software to use.